Parshas Korach (5768)
This week's portion tells the story of Korach's rebellion
against Moses. The first verse states that Korach, who
was an aspiring Levite from a distinguished family,
took with him those two famous Biblical
troublemakers, Dasan and Aviram, and On, son of
Peles, to start a revolt against the leadership of Moses
and his brother, Aaron, the High Priest. To make a
long story very short - Korach, Dasan and Aviram and
their families lose the argument and are punished by
being miraculously swallowed up alive by the earth.
(For the longer version,
I recommend reading the Artscroll Stone Edition
Chumash - see pages 820-830. The English
translation is quite readable, and the notes at the
bottom are insightful and interesting.)
The question is ... what ever happened to On, son of
Peles? He was originally mentioned as one of
Korach's co-conspirators, but when it comes to
punishment time, his name is not mentioned as one
of those swallowed up in the ground.
To solve this mystery, we have to go to the Midrash,
which records an Oral Tradition as to what happened
behind the scenes of Korach's rebellion.
You see, On descended from the tribe of Reuven, and,
as such, was originally supposed to enjoy certain
privileges and responsibilities within the hierarchy of
the Jewish people. But then came the Golden Calf,
and the tribe of Reuven didn't act responsibly as a first-
born tribe should, and was subsequently removed
from its special status, to be replaced by the tribe of
Levi, who did the right thing at the scene of the Golden
Calf. Korach persuaded On to rebel against Moses, in
order to regain his original, coveted status of
privileged firstborn.
The Midrash tells us that, as it happened, On's wife
had the insight and intuition to see through Korach's
evil scheme, and attempted to persuade her husband
not to rebel against Moses, the leader of the Jewish
people. Even after hearing her sound arguments,
however, On told his wife that he had no choice since
he had taken an oath to join Korach, and he couldn't
turn back now. So On's wife decided to take matters
into her own hands. She fed On a really good meal,
and got him intoxicated with some strong Scotch.
While he was sleeping inside the tent, she sat herself
down at the entrance to the tent, dressed in an
immodest fashion. She knew that any minute, Korach
would come by to pick up her husband for their
planned rebellion against Moses. When Korach and
his entourage came and saw her dressed in such a
fashion, they immediately turned away from her tent,
and left sleeping On alone. (Korach might have been
a rebel, but I guess he did have some standards!)
In contrast to On's wife, the Midrash teaches us that
Korach's wife was the one who actually instigated his
rebelling against Moses in the first place.
What happened next is recorded in the Torah. Korach
complains to Moses and tries to start a rebellion
against G-d's finest. He and his entire entourage and
their families all die a miraculously miserable death -
the ground opens up beneath them and swallows
them alive. And all this time, On, son of Peles, is
sleeping peacefully in his tent, thanks to the wisdom,
foresight and heroic efforts of his loyal wife. And now
you know ... the rest of the story!
King Solomon writes in Proverbs 14:1: "The wise
among women, each builds her house, but the foolish
one tears it down with her hands." The Midrash
explains this passage to be referring to the wives of
On and Korach, respectively.
King Solomon is thus teaching us that On's wife and
the courage she showed in saving her entire house
from physical and spiritual destruction, are really
symbolic of the power of the Jewish woman to create
and build the very foundation of the Jewish people -
the Jewish home. Whatever her career might be
outside the home, the Jewish woman is ultimately
responsible for the most important mission there is -
to ensure the continuity of our nation by maintaining
and strengthening the spiritual vitality of the family unit.
Sometimes it takes the form of heroics like that of
On's wife. Her husband is about to do a really stupid
thing that can literally destroy the very fabric of the
home. In that case, the woman was blessed with the
keen insight and strength to do whatever it takes to
save the day. Other times, the Jewish woman's job
isn't so outwardly glorious. It involves the daily
instilling of values and holiness into her husband and
children, in whatever forms that may take.
But let no Jewish man (or woman) ever forget the
message of the strangely disappearing On - and the
central role that the Jewish woman has played, and
will always play, in the spiritual and physical survival of
the Jewish people.
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